Category Archives: Beauty
Fun with Emilia in the New Year!
My very funny daughter Emilia will be playing the Belly Room at the world famous Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood on SATURDAY, JANUARY 9th at 7:30 pm.
Here’s the ticket link for the show:
https://nightout.com/events/bitch-jan-9/tickets#.Voer3njZWNc
ADVANCE TICKETS are $11.00 – These tickets will expire at midnight on 1/8/16.
ADVANCE TICKETS are $15.00 – They’ll expire at 5:00p on 1/9/16.
Hope to see you there!
Filed under Art, Beauty, Comedy, Improvisation
New Musical Treasures at The Mint!
This Thursday, January 7th at 7:30 PM, a group of talented young musicians will take the stage at The Mint in Hollywood for an eclectic evening of rock & roll, jazz and blues.
Among this fine collection of artists are my daughter Eva and her band The Eva B. Ross Foundation – along with her friends from UCLA, the popular Nick Valentini Collective.
Eva is an emerging singer-songwriter who plays originals, rock classics and standards from the Great American Songbook with a bluesy, jazzy flavor, tinged with shades of Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones.
Eva might argue with that description, but that’s what I hear. Lend her an ear and hear for yourself.
This show will also be an opportunity for folks on the West Coast to hear Henry Hall play. I’ve known Henry since he was born – and he’s grown into a fine young man with great guitar skills and a singular musical vision. Check him out.
The show will be a musical treasure.
That’s why it’s at The Mint.
The Mint is located at 6010 West Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles. For ticket information, click here.
Hope to see you on the dance floor!
Filed under Art, Beauty, Music, rock & roll
The Passing of The Pocket Puma
There are domestic cats. And there are wild cats.
And there was, and ever will be, Caliban.
Historians tell us that cats were cult animals in ancient Egypt, but it’s believed that cats may have been domesticated as early as the Neotlithic Period (7500 BC). As for wild cats, there are still a handful of savage undomesticated felines in our neighborhood.
An article in the August 14, 2014 edition of The Los Angeles Times, noted that there are still 8 to 10 mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains. Our Caliban considered himself among their wild number.
But, in fact, our Caliban was unique. He was a domesticated wild cat — The Pocket Puma: an animal as comfortable in the wild and he was in our den.
Born on the Fourth of July, Caliban came into our lives sixteen and half years ago. For 15 years he lived the adventurous life of a bold indoor-outdoor cat in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, slaying rabbits, gophers, rats, mice, birds, and lizards – all the while frustrating the murderous designs of the coyote hordes who sought his demise.
And yet, in our home – where he chose to nap, occasionally dine, and accept our petting and adoration – this savage killer was always the cutest and cuddliest of pets.
Caliban, as usual, joins the party.
I can only imagine what a fleeing rabbit saw in Caliban’s eyes in those last bloody moments before he became yet another trophy to be laid upon our doorstep – but my wife and daughters and I saw only the tame and affectionate boy who became, over the years, our loyal and devoted son.
Between Christmas 2014 and New Year’s 2015, Caliban went to Kitty Valhalla. He passed away in his home, surrounded by his family, and was buried beneath the hills upon which he hunted with unrivaled ferocity and flair.
We’re having a hard time saying goodbye to such a good, good boy. But our very dear friend, Brad Hall, has penned a tribute that says a great deal of what we feel about our dear, sweet, savage Caliban.
SONNET FOR CALIBAN
Escape from death’s dark shadow Caliban,
And hear thy praises sweetly named and sung;
Homage must be giv’n; now, the best I can,
Your song I’ll sing, tho sadness has my tongue.
Courage! Honor! How can a cat have these?
Virtue! Kindness! All yours, and in excess!
Famous your kills, brought home in twos and threes!
Little bloody trophies to your success.
Your philosophy – what you tried to do,
Four footed Adonis, whiskered Ajax,
Live your life beside, but without us too;
Living room and forest both hold your tracks.
In mem’ry your spirit will play some part
But you, oh Caliban! you were all heart.
Filed under Beauty
A Musical Tribute to Memphis.
Memphis, Tennessee is the birthplace of rock and roll. It’s where the King of Rock & Roll lived and died. It’s where the Delta blues stopped for a drink on Beale Street before heading up to Chicago. And it’s where my late brother Peter managed the city’s finest luxury hotel, The Peabody. So, let’s celebrate Memphis in song…
1. Long Way from Memphis (The Automatics)
This cut is by a band of English ex-pats living in Los Angeles. The drummer (Paul Crowder) is friend of mine. He’s also a great video editor. I met him while working on “Behind The Music”. Saw him and the band play live at a club in Los Angeles and they opened with this fine rock & roll tune – which includes an Elvis sighting in Kalamazoo.
2. All the Way to Memphis (Mott the Hoople)
For years I loved this song – but I had no idea what Ian Hunter was singing about. The song was my favorite on the 1973 album “Mott”, which was the follow-up to “All The Young Dudes.” Listening to the song over and over, I can now tell that it’s about Hunter losing a guitar and having a hard time getting it returned to him. Never knew there was an Oriole, Kentucky – but it’s lucky for Ian, because Oriole rhymes with Rock & Roll if you pronounce it that way. The song’s best line? “It’s a mighty long way down rock ‘n’ roll, from the Liverpool docks to the Hollywood Bowl.”
3. I’ve Been to Memphis (Lyle Lovett)
Of course Lyle Lovett’s been to Memphis. This song, like so many songs with a Memphis connection, mentions a lot of other towns – and women – along the way. I love the honky-tonk feel of this one.
4. Memphis In the Meantime (John Hiatt)
John Hiatt ditches Nashville so he and his lady can “get good and greasy” in Memphis. The band on this track is an all-star group: Hiatt (acoustic guitar), Ry Cooder (electric guitar), Nick Lowe (bass) and Jim Keltner (drums). Nice company, huh? Ronnie Milsap, it’s your loss.
5. Graceland (Paul Simon)
While John Hiatt goes to Memphis to enjoy the down and dirty rhythm and blues with some boozy babe, Paul Simon is traveling on a pilgrimage seeking benediction and redemption. The title track of one of Simon’s greatest albums, it has some of his finest lyrics – and Simon nails the allure and power of Memphis and The King’s mansion. I have just one quibble with Simon. The Mississippi delta can surely shine like a National guitar – but it’s not “the cradle of the Civil War.” That infamy belongs to South Carolina. Just ask General Sherman’s troops.
6. I’m Going to Memphis (Johnny Cash)
The Man in Black got his start in Memphis with Sam Phillips and Sun Records: part of the Million Dollar Quartet of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. In this song, credited to Alan Lomax and associated with Memphis Slim, Johnny is journeying to Memphis to see and do a lot of strange things. I don’t think Johnny’s on the same holy pilgrimage that Paul Simon is going on.
7. Going Back to Memphis (The Levon Helm Band)
Levon Helm and his band are having a great time on this rollicking, rocking track.
The whole thing is a party, led by Levon at his gravelly best.
One of rock and roll’s best examples of a guy who can lead a band from behind his drum kit, Levon takes another journey through song to the great musical Mecca on the Mississippi.
8. Memphis (Chuck Berry)
“Long-distance information, get me Memphis, Tennessee.” Thus, Chuck Berry begins one of the most oft-covered tunes ever written about Memphis. Chuck says he recorded this one at his office in St. Louis on an $80 Sears Roebuck reel-to-reel. (Although $80 was a lot of money in those days.) With its surprise ending, in which we learn that “Marie is only 6-years old,” this is one of those perfect rock and roll songs that Chuck Berry churned out so magically in the 1950’s. It’s another reason we’re all Chuck’s children.
9. Guitar Man (Elvis Presley)
This is a great comeback Elvis track, proving that the King of Rock & Roll had survived Hollywood and emerged with his voice and flawless sense of rhythm and dynamics intact. Jerry Reed, who wrote the song (and could also play guitar like a-ringin’ a bell) had a minor hit with the tune in 1967 — but Elvis’ cover (with Reed on guitar) became a chart topper. Recorded in Nashville in the late 1960’s, it was re-remixed and re-released four years after The King’s death, scoring him a posthumous #1 hit on the country charts in 1981.
Here’s a clip from the ’68 Comeback Special. There’s some fun stuff at the top, then Elvis tears into a bit of “Guitar Man”, proving he’s still the King of Rock & Roll.
10. Johnny Bye-Bye (Bruce Springsteen)
In this short, dark and complex song, Bruce ties Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry together. The Boss starts out with the opening lyrics of Chuck’s “Bye Bye Johnny,” (“She drew out all her money from the Southern Trust, and put her little boy aboard a Greyhound bus”) then pivots to a meditation on the death of Elvis, from his rise to stardom (“Leaving Memphis with a guitar in his hand, a one-way ticket to the promised land”) to his death at Graceland (“They found him slumped up against the drain, a whole lot of trouble running through his veins”).
11. King’s Call (Phil Lynott)
Another musical meditation on the death of Elvis Presley: this one’s a deeply personal tribute by Thin Lizzy’s lead singer, Phil Lynott – who also died tragically young, passing away at the age of 36 in 1986. “King’s Call” is a track from Lynott’s first solo album – and if the guitar playing sounds familiar, that’s because Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler sat in on guitar and backing vocals. I love this tune.
12. Memphis Monday Morning (Bobby “Blue” Bland)
As Phil Lynott sang in the previous track, “It was a rainy night, the night The King went down.” So perhaps Mr. Bobby Blue Bland is singing about that very night, as he takes us through this jazzy, bluesy walk through the late night/early morning streets of Memphis. Along the way, he name checks my brother’s hotel and several other Memphis locations. The musicianship on this track is awesome: a little cool jazz mixed with the blues for all you classy cats.
13. Big Train (From Memphis) (John Fogerty)
The great John Fogerty’s tribute to Sam Phillips and Sun records is dominated by the train imagery evoked in so many songs from and about Memphis. (By the way, I had the honor of meeting Sam Phillips in the late 1990’s when I interviewed him for Rick Nelson: Behind The Music. We sat at the same Formica kitchen table in Sam’s Memphis house where he sat with Elvis when he told the future King of Rock & Roll that he was selling his contract to RCA. No brag, just fact.) This song was on Fogerty’s hit 1985 “comeback album” Centerfield, and was covered the next year by the living Sun Records legends: Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison. Alas, only The Killer is still with us at the age of 79.
14. Night Train To Memphis (Dean Martin)
Dino gets into some pre-rock & roll, country swing on this song, written by Beasley Smith, Marvin Hughes and Owen Bradley.
Somehow, Dean Martin makes everything he does sound groovy and utterly cool.
Given that Dean was one of Elvis’ biggest heroes – and that Elvis tried to emulate Dino’s sound – it’s only fitting that the King of Cool have his spot in this Memphis themed lineup.
15. Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again (Bob Dylan)
In this fabulous track from Blonde on Blonde, Dylan puts together perhaps the greatest word collage in the history of rock & roll. And among all those words, he keeps referring to “the Memphis blues”, which he obviously has again – though he (and Jerry Reed’s guitar man) are stuck in Mobile, Alabama at the time. If this song had been sung by Ian Hunter it would be completely incomprehensible, but Dylan makes the words quite clear even if the meaning is elusive. Who cares? It’s great. It rocks. And it’s the last tune on this tribute to Memphis, Tennessee – the birthplace of rock & roll.
Paul's Voyage of Discovery & Etc. 